A New Warning for Pregnant Women About Fish

Pregnant women may soon be getting stronger warnings about eating fish. So far, the FDA advises expectant mothers to avoid eating shark, swordfish, king mackerel, and tilefish. But an FDA Advisory Panel says that list should be expanded to include tuna steak.

The concern is that some fish contain levels of mercury considered unsafe because it could affect the brain development of the fetus. Critics argue the current warnings are not strong or clear enough, explaining that many women are confused or uninformed because you won't find the printed warnings on packaged fish.

To add to the confusion, the FDA recommends that pregnant women eat up to 12 ounces of fish a week. Just as long as it is not shark, king mackerel, or tilefish, and now tuna steak may be added to that. By the way, canned tuna does not have the same mercury content as tuna steak. Large fish typically have the highest mercury contents. Canned tuna usually comes from the small tuna.